Blizzard in Alaska, January 16, 2002

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, January 16, 2002
Start: 2002-01-16T15:35
End: 2002-01-16T17:55
Location: Alaska

January 16, 2002 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Blizzard conditions developed over St. Lawrence Island.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.

Blizzard conditions developed over St. Lawrence Island. Snow and wind gusts to 51 knots (62 mph) creating blowing snow that reduced the visibilty to less than 1/4 of a mile at Gambell and Savoonga. These condtions developed as an occluded front approached and passed over the area. This front was associated with a 966 millibar low pressure system over the central Bering Sea.

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: January 16, 3:35 PM AST to 5:55 PM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, January 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5279774.